Weligama

Driving along from Ahangama, you begin to notice the famous Stilt fishermen perched like curious-looking birds all the way towards Weligama. At one end of the sleepy town, stands a megalith to the memory of Kustaraja- the Leper king- who became miraculously cured of his dreaded disease by consuming copious amounts of King Coconut water. The catamarans are a good way to grab a ride round this picturesque bay, and fishermen are most obliging in between fishing trips. At the prettiest end of the bay, you can wade out at low tide to She-devil Island or Taprobane, which appears like an islet out of a James Bond movie. It was built in the 30’s by Count de Mauny, a French landscape architect who created this legendary folly on a piece of land which was originally a cobra dump. The octaganal white villa has attracted everyone from Noel Coward, Paul Bowles and Robin Maugham and is currently featured in Hip Hotels.

If you head towards Mirissa, a picture-postcard beach for wave surfing and swimming, you won`t need any further entertaining; but if you are trying to keep up with the Indiana Joneses, the Snake Farm (14 kms from Weligama) has 15 different varieties of snake, some of them are extremely large and serious-looking pythons, and Tarantulas which were probably displaced when Count de Mauny sent them packing!